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50,000 ha of rainforest under/destined for private management, the growing profit is promising. (Kirby et al.,

2010) However, the potential damage to the sensitive wildlife and biodiverse ecosystems that coexist within

Tambopata and other national reserves is immense and surely guaranteed. Effects of the ecotourism in the

jungle that add to threat include massive deforestation due to aggressive and reckless expansion, the

construction of the Interoceanica Sur (IOS) Highway for increased convenience with little regard to how much

the foreign elements of construction will affect the natural habitats, and increased Ecotourism Lite that

disregards the regulations and goals of conservation for the sake of profit, all increase the risk of pollution,

deterioration, and destruction of the rainforest. (Buckley, 2009)

After ecotourism, land in the Peruvian Amazon has six other major uses; agriculture, cattle ranching,

Brazil nut extraction, selective timber extraction, alluvial gold mining, and private reserves. From timber

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extraction and gold mining alone, an estimated total of US$ 280 million is made yearly, at the same time

employing 20,000 people. Recent estimates propose that ecotourism in developing countries such as Peru can

bring a profit as great as US$ 210 billion a year. Ultimately a greater benefit for the country as a whole, and a

great supporter for conservation. Yet, in areas like the Peruvian jungle where government and general

financial policies do not fully represent the better interest for the locals of which their land is making said

profit, the large revenue does not always come back to benefit the rainforest. “...social costs and benefits are

rarely internalized by markets or by the state, and land use is determined by private costs and benefits.” (Kirby

et al., 2010) In 2005, private NPV was calculated per hectare of intact tropical land, and results of rural

household use were as follows. 200 out of 209 households during the 2006-2007 growing season were

economically dependent on the products and resources derived from the lands of the rainforest. Of the 200, 44

(22%) were located 1 km from a major, navigable river. 91 of these households (46%) were within 1 km of

the construction and planned location of the IOS highway, and 65 (33%) were within a logging track or

secondary road. 12 lodges were sampled based on private net benefits, and found in total were in control of

31,807 ha of land in the rainforest, and the private benefits (profits) managed to earn US$ 39 per hectare.

However, unsustainable timber extractions such as this is only profitable with economic activity for the first

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